A vehicle may have harnesses of wires or lines. The wires may connect sensors and/or actuators to a control module, such as an engine controller. The lines may include flexible lines such as fuel and hydraulic lines to convey fluids from the engine to various parts of the vehicle. A sensor harness may include a plurality of cables, each cable having a different length or diameter. Because of the complexity of the sensor harness, a cable fixing structure such as a bracket may be used to securely attach the harness to a vehicle body. The bracket may be used in conjunction with other fixing accessories to secure the harness to the vehicle body.
An example wire harness fixing structure or bracket is disclosed by Tsuboi in US 20160066473 A1. Therein, the fixing structure comprises a retaining portion to clamp a wire harness, a flat plate with a first and second opening, and a vertical portion connecting the retaining portion to the flat plate. The bracket may be mounted to an engine using a fastener, such as a bolt that may be extended through the first opening in the flat plate, and fastened to a top portion of an engine.
However, the inventors have recognized potential issues with the above wire harness fixing structure. For example, the retainer of the fixing structure may be configured to secure a single cable instead of a plurality of cables, rendering the structure unsuitable for a complex harness comprised of multiple cables. Furthermore, the single retainer provided on the fixing structure may not adequately secure a harness with long cables, causing the harness to waggle and posing potential for damage and disruption of data transmission.
The inventors herein have developed an integrated bracket to address some of issues noted above. In one example, an integrated bracket comprises a first plate with an opening to receive a fastener to securely attach the bracket to a vehicle body; an inlet gate coupled to the first plate; a second plate coupled and angled to the first plate; a protection shield extending from the first plate; and an exit gate attached to the second plate, each gate having an extending arm pair.
In this way, one design of the integrated bracket may be used to secure a plurality of cables of a sensor harness in between extending arms of inlet and exit gates, each cable optionally having a different length or diameter. The protection shield on the bracket may provide a way of guiding the cables and protecting the sensor harness from environmental elements. The example approaches described here may confer several advantages. For example, an integrated bracket may be designed to resist mechanical and environmental stresses, and may be used with different vehicle designs. Also, the bracket may be comprised of durable materials, allowing the bracket to operate under a wide range of conditions. In this way, the integrated bracket provides a simplified harness fixing structure with minimal maintenance and improved performance.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure